APPENDIX. 521 



Penstemon. — This plant is not found on the upper Nile. Dr. 

 Emin probably mistook it for one of the abundant ScrophulariacecB 

 with bright blossoms, such as Striga, Sopubia, &c. — Schweinfurth. 



Mimosas. — Only one species of this genus exists in the region 

 under consideration. Dr. Emin, when using this term, evidently 

 refers to acacias, of which there are many shrubs and trees. — 



SCHWEINFURTH. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Stations. — These are military stations or forts. Each station 

 is fortified, either by earthworks or strong stockades, and each 

 possesses several gates, which remain open from 6 a.m. till 8 p.m., 

 and at which sentries are mounted night and day. From sunset. 

 to sunrise no gun may be fired off in or near a station, except as a 

 signal of alarm. At 5.30 a.m. the reveille is sounded, and soon 

 after the signal, " Light your fires." At 6 a.m. the roll is called 

 and the gates opened ; the soldiers drill, and the women begin to 

 sweep the streets. At 8.30 all excepting the sentries turn out to 

 work in the fields, to draw water, or to fetch wood ; the dew being 

 by that time dried up, the cattle are sent out to graze. "Work lasts 

 till 11.30, when there is an interval for rest till 2.30 p.m. It then 

 continues till 5 p.m., when all return inside the fort. At 8 p.m. 

 the roll is called, the gates shut, and at 9 p.m. all fires are extin- 

 guished, an officer going the rounds to see that this regulation is 

 obeyed. The orders are most strict with regard to fire. Should a 

 strong wind arise during the day, the bugle sounds " fires out," and 

 any one not promptly conforming to the rule is severely punished. 

 This is a very necessary precaution, as, if a hut catches fire, it is 

 with difficulty that the whole station is saved from destruction. In 

 the spring of 1878 Lado itself was burned down, and the immense 

 stores which Baker Pasha had taken to the province were all de- 

 stroyed. It was owing to these precautions being omitted that 

 Wadelai and several other stations were completely burned to the 

 ground in 1887. — E. W. F. 



Laterite. — The " bog iron ore " and " ferruginous clay " (clay 

 ironstone) frequently mentioned by Dr. Emin appears to be laterite, 

 the extension of which throughout the Congo region has recently 

 been made known by Dr. Pechuel-Loesche and others. Specimens 

 from the Congo agree with those obtained from the Bahr-el-Ghazal. 



SCHWEINFURTH. 



FakI (fakir, pi. fukara), literally a poor man, that is, a mendicant 



